TomoTherapy Participates in New Venture to Develop a Compact Proton
Therapy System
MADISON, Wis. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) April 28, 2008 --
TomoTherapy Incorporated
(NASDAQ: TOMO) today announced its participation in a new venture,
Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation (CPAC), to develop a
state-of-the-art, compact proton therapy system for the treatment of
cancer. The system will feature a dielectric-wall accelerator (DWA).
CPAC conducted the initial closing of phase I of the investment, and
anticipates completing phase I with one or more additional closings over
the next several months. Investors in CPAC will include TomoTherapy,
private investors and potential customers. A total investment of
approximately $45 million is anticipated to be completed in three phases
which are linked to key technological milestones.
The DWA technology, which resulted from defense-related research at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has the potential to
bring fixed and rotational intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) to
treat cancer into the medical mainstream. It is distinct from current
particle accelerator technology in that energies of 200 MeV are expected
to be achieved within a relatively compact structure that fits in a
standard therapy treatment room as compared to other technologies that
require significantly more space and weight-bearing capacity (up to
several hundred tons).
"The formation of CPAC will accelerate the development of the DWA," said
Fred Robertson, TomoTherapy's CEO. "The new venture is also expected to
reduce risk to the company, as it will focus DWA development for
applications beyond medical applications and the investors funding this
work will pool their resources with TomoTherapy to increase the speed
and likelihood of success."
According to Shawn Guse, Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel
of TomoTherapy and CEO of CPAC, “We believe,
as do the investors who have committed funding to this project, that
compact proton therapy systems are the future of particle therapy. The
collaboration of TomoTherapy, CPAC and LLNL strengthens our commitment
to deliver on the promise of this technology, and increases our capacity
to move proton therapy to market more quickly.”
TomoTherapy will contribute intellectual property to CPAC in exchange
for its interest in the company. It will co-develop the compact proton
therapy system with CPAC and has the option to acquire the medical
applications of the DWA from CPAC in the future. CPAC will also continue
to collaborate with LLNL to optimize the DWA for particle therapy and
other applications. CPAC will also work with other commercial partners
to develop the DWA for non-medical applications.
About Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation (CPAC)
CPAC is a newly formed company focused on the development of the
dielectric-wall accelerator (DWA) and its application to particle
therapy and other fields of use. DWA technology will form the basis of a
compact, high-gradient particle accelerator that is anticipated to be
used in medical, security and defense applications.
About TomoTherapy Incorporated
TomoTherapy Incorporated has developed, markets and sells the TomoTherapy®
Hi·Art®
treatment system, an advanced radiation therapy system for the treatment
of a wide variety of cancers. The Hi·Art
treatment system combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation
therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and
precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy
tissue. The company’s stock is traded on the
NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO. To learn more about
TomoTherapy, please visit TomoTherapy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this release regarding future business, plans, events,
expectations, products and other similar matters, including but not
limited to statements using the terms “can”
and “expect”
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those anticipated, including but not limited to risks inherent in the
development and commercialization of new technology and products, and
the other risks listed from time to time in TomoTherapy’s
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which by this
reference are incorporated herein. These forward-looking statements
represent TomoTherapy’s judgments as of the
date of this press release. TomoTherapy assumes no obligation to update
or revise the forward-looking statements in this release because of new
information, future events or otherwise.
©2008 TomoTherapy Incorporated. All rights
reserved. TomoTherapy, the TomoTherapy logo and Hi·Art
are among trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of
TomoTherapy Incorporated.
See the original story at: http://eon.businesswire.com/releases/tomotherapy/compact/prweb899554.htm
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